The Patriot Act, or Why I Will Never Vote the Party Line.

As you may have noticed, I've spent much effort defending the Republicans and Bush in the war. But. I still have some major problems with them. Namely the Patriot Act, which ought to be retitled the "Anti-Constitution Act." Have you ever seen a bill that takes away so many our our "inalienable" rights? There hasn't been one that passed, to my knowledge. After September 11 we were scared, and so evil politicians like John Ashcroft (I believe him to be one of the most evil public personages in the news today) were able to pull the wool over our eyes and push through laws that, in a normal atmosphere, would not have had a chance of passing. In fact, I find it hard to believe that the Suprme Court hasn't called it unconstitutional. I suppose there is nothing in the Patriot Act that directly infringes on our rights, but indirectly it is a time bomb, just waiting for an overzealous government agent to push someone too far and blow this thing wide open. I completely support the towns and states that are passing anti-Patriot Act ordinances, and I think the librarians that are destroying borrower records should be awarded medals. Did you know that the Patriot Act had a sunset clause? In other words it was supposed to automatically end at a certain time. I don't remember when that time is, but I do know that several of our elected officials in congress have been pushing to have it extended. There's also the possibility of Patriot Act II, which will expand the federal government's power to spy on us for no reason other than that they feel like it. Write your congressman and tell him, "Stay the hell out of my private life." We pay these people a huge percentage of our income, and they spend the money spying on us. Someone should sponsor "The True Patriot Act," which safeguards our right to privacy by making it illegal for he government to collect information on US citizens without notifying the citizen what is being collected and why.